


oversized and overwhelmed

by FastPacedFreeFall



Series: the things you swore you saw yourself [2]
Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Gen, post-Syren, technically this is my marichat may piece, though marichat is not the main focus
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-28
Updated: 2018-05-28
Packaged: 2019-05-15 00:39:57
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,910
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14780349
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FastPacedFreeFall/pseuds/FastPacedFreeFall
Summary: Plagg needs help in keeping Adrien's head above the proverbial water, and Adrien needs a push in the right direction.





	oversized and overwhelmed

**Author's Note:**

> This is the kwami meddling I've been craving ever since the Dark Owl mini reveal. Title is from "Vindicated" by Dashboard Confessional(somehow that's becoming a thing with my Marichat fics. I don't know why).

* * *

The sighing is getting on Plagg's last nerve.

Adrien is a romantic, he's very well aware of this, but ever since his date with Ladybug fell through the kwami has had to watch his boy pine like a schoolgirl in a bad teen movie. It was nothing new, something that had been going on since the beginning of their partnership, but lately it was even more excruciating to watch. Finding out that Ladybug was the girl that secretly mooned over Adrien was one thing, but not being able to _tell_ him, and having to sit here and watch him moon over _the same girl_ and not even _realize_ what was happening right in front of him...

He needs a heck of a lot more cheese to even begin to unpack that mess. He doesn't know how Tikki's managed to keep her sanity, if Marinette is even half as bad about it.

Adrien's been holed up in the corner by the window since dinner ended and he could escape the silence of the empty dinner hall to the silence of his empty room. It's one of his go-to sulk spots, where he can curl up in ball on the floor and lament the fact that Ladybug doesn't trust him or doesn't know he's alive outside of fighting akumas or any other number of issues that come up in his relationship with the heroine. He doesn't begrudge him this time to vent, not really; this life isn't easy, it never has been, even for the ones who'd been adults and more able to deal with tremendous pressure. 

It's just such a fixable problem, and Tikki won't _let_ him fix it, so he has to keep _hearing_ about how it's _not fixed_! It's enough to drive _anyone_ nuts!

He finally puts down the slice of camembert he's been gnawing at and flits up to face Adrien, cutting him off before he can get this newest rant really started. The question doesn't even really need to be asked anymore, by now he can see the second Adrien makes the decision in the tightening of his eyes. 

Adrien is not typically someone who runs from what ails him, but everyone needs a way to work out frustration, and Plagg is silently happy to serve as the vehicle of Adrien's rejection of his father's demanding nature. The incantation is made, the ring pulls him in, and they're through the window, streaking off into the cool Paris evening.

* * *

The streets have a real glut of people tonight, the Parisian's having decided that they'd rather be out as much as possible after Syren's flooding of the city had forced them to the rooftops. It pulls a tiny smile out of Chat, the first in hours; it seems the people of Paris had decided that they would try that much harder to live their lives in spite of Hawkmoth's attempts to terrorize the city with Akuma. It's rather inspiring.

If he could borrow some of that backbone, maybe he wouldn't be in the situation he is.

He sets down from his swinging with a sigh, leaning against the chimney behind him and takes in the feeling of air swirling around him rather than water. Transforming with abilities to breathe underwater had been fun in its own ways, but true to his feline nature, he much rather preferred being nice and dry. His Lady had seemed to have enough fun with it, racing through the submerged city looking every bit like a mermaid princess pulled from a fairytale.  
Even the thought of how lovely she was, though, didn't get rid of the twinge of hurt in his chest.

He understands why she won't allow any kind of revelation of their true identities; it's far too much of a risk that Hawkmoth could take advantage of if he got his claws into either one of them, and they don't know how far his abilities to probe into his victim's minds stretch. He yearns to know just who his Lady is, every fiber of his being wants it, but he will never take the chance of putting her in that kind of danger. But the secret-keeping is something else entirely, and he can't help but feel insulted and angry that he's been kept out of the loop about Master Fu and the true extent of their kwami's history. Telling him wouldn't have to involve revealing themselves, as Fu had demonstrated after the fight.

He's been by her side from the beginning, loyal to a fault, and he understands now that it wasn't entirely her decision to keep him in the dark. It doesn't stop the nagging idea that she doesn't trust him enough to know everything, though, and it just plain hurts.

Another sigh rips from the back of his throat, and he can feel Plagg's annoyance through the Miraculous. It's met with apologetic amusement. It can't be easy for Plagg, dealing with his tendency to melancholy. He wonders how many pining, melancholy Chat Noirs Plagg has had to deal with, and if they ever figured their shit out better than him. Maybe he can ask for pointers.

The annoyance morphs to what he can only describe as urgent poking, and he detransforms, watching Plagg spiral out of his ring with curiosity. The kwami settles next to him with a sigh of his own, pulling a piece of cheese he'd somehow hidden in Adrien's pocket without his notice and beginning to chow down.

“Glad to see I also function as a snack bar,” he says with a smirk.

“What can I say,” comes the muffled reply. “Sharing your emotional state really works up an appetite. So why did we come all the way out here?”

Adrien's grin tightens at the corners, his gaze moving out across the glowing streets below. “I just needed to be out somewhere without walls. I can think better out here where things aren't so solitary. No offense.”

Plagg gulps down the last of his slice. “None taken. I know my company, while of the utmost quality, is a little lacking in the 'quantity' department.”

He chuckles, and the silence between them threatens to stretch into something more comfortable until Plagg speaks again, his voice tinged with a very uncharacteristic trepidation.

“So what will you do?”

He doesn't have to ask what he means.

“I don't know,” Adrien mutters, running a hand through his hair. “I- I've never had to deal with something like this.” Being isolated from other people didn't lend itself well to dealing with conflicting emotions about the girl you liked. “I don't think I can just stop being upset with her that easily; it feels like she doesn't trust me, not as much as I trust her.”

“You know that's not what this was,” Plagg says, a light chiding behind his words.

“Yeah. But that's what it _feels_ like.”

There's not a reply to that, but he can sense that Plagg gets what he means. It strikes him then, how much this superhero thing has isolated him from anyone else he talks to. He doesn't have a sounding board for what he's going through besides Plagg, and it adds a little bit of a twinge of guilt. He doesn't want to turn the kwami into his therapist.

Plagg turns with a glare, like he can guess what turn Adrien's thought have taken and he doesn't approve. “Have you thought about maybe finding someone to talk to about it? I mean, besides me and my awesome advice that you don't seem to take.”

“Right. I'll just pick someone out of my vast number of friends to spill my guts to over a secret I swore I wouldn't share. I'm sure that will end just wonderfully, and besides, who could I even go to?”

When he looks up again, though, Plagg's eyes have turned away from him to fix on a point in the distance. He follows the line of sight, and lands on a certain familiar balcony hovering over the Dupain-Cheng bakery. And from this distance, his eyes can just make out the outline of a small figure with a pair of familiar ponytails swaying gently in the light breeze.

Plagg's voice is somewhat softer when he speaks again. “I mean, it's not like she's a stranger to certain stray cats showing up at her door.” Adrien knows he mostly means it as a friendly dig, but something in his stomach seizes up at Plagg's words. Marinette is his friend, and a very good one, but the thought of going over there and spilling his guts about his feelings over Ladybug makes him feel weirdly sick, like it's something he knows he shouldn't be considering. He likes Marinette, but things with her lately are getting... complicated. The night with the failed date, when he'd already done such a thing once and she'd been so empathetic, has been something he can't stop thinking about ever since it happened. Coupled with the dance they'd shared at Chloe's party, and he can't shake the feeling that something has shifted in the way he sees her. She's still friendly, and noticeably more comfortable around him than she used to be, but he can't pretend that there's not a difference there, even though it's nothing he can put his finger on. All he knows is that the way he thinks of his friendship with Marinette is not the same way he thinks of friendship with Alya or Nino, and if he had his tail right now it would be lashing side to side in a nervous fit.

But Plagg is not wrong; he needs someone else who can go to without so many shackles on what he can say, and at least he can trust Marinette not to go spreading this to anyone else, even if he can't tell her everything.

“Are you sure this is really okay,” he mutters, already standing up in anticipation despite himself. “I mean, Master Fu did make it pretty clear that I shouldn't let anyone else get too close to my double life, and Marinette's not stupid. What if she figures something out?”

“Master Fu isn't the one who has to sit here with all your dithering,” Plagg snickers back. “And yeah, I know she's not stupid, but she's not going to be focused on picking your identity apart. She'll be too busy trying to figure out what she can say to help you.” And then, Plagg looks at him, the most serious Adrien can ever remember seeing him.

“You know, it's okay to ask other people for help when you need it. I know this whole thing with Ladybug and the secrets makes you think you should start being more independent, but you were never meant to be out on your own. As Adrien _or_ as Chat Noir.”

He doesn't know what to say to something like that, so he swallows around the sudden lump in his throat and whispers a “Claws Out.” Light and magic now as familiar as his own skin rush over him, and he lets a distinctly cat-like grin spread as he backs up to make the leap to Marinette. Tonight's turned out to have a lucky break for this black cat, with the hope of a friendly smile and a sympathetic ear and, if he plays his cards right, a chocolate croissant.

He can ask Plagg about the distinct smugness he can feel radiating through their connection later.

**Author's Note:**

> Hope you all enjoyed! Please review!


End file.
